Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Should I? Or Shouldn't I?

I am conflicted about the two new Chaucer books reviewed at the Times. I mean, Who Murdered Chaucer? was written by Terry Jones. Do I get the book because I like Monty Python? And Chaucer is by Peter Ackroyd (be sure to scroll down on the article and take a gander at his picture. His attempt at sexy but serious intellectual doesn't quite work for me).
I can't say that I'm that interested in Chaucer. I've read some but not all of the Canterbury Tales in their original English with lots and lots of footnotes. It was well worth the struggle but not so fantastic that I wanted to read them all. So, do I get the books on the strength of the authors and hope that they will be interesting, or do I cave into my disinterest in Chaucer and potentially miss some good books?